


Candy Red Sure is a Motherfuckin Miracle

by h0melessmandragon



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Homestuck - Freeform, M/M, gamkar - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 02:52:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5113448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h0melessmandragon/pseuds/h0melessmandragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mutants can never be friends with Subjugglator's... right?</p><p> </p><p>(I'm shit at summaries, take this for now omg sorry Dx))<br/>((Title subject for change))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS AN RP I'M DOING WITH A FRIEND
> 
> AU in which Karkat is part of his father's resistance and the Grand Hoghblood takes great interest in their mutant family and keeps them locked up in (I'll just call it a dungeon). 
> 
> And like things are pretty gosh darned uncertain for them and now they don't even have the comfort of each other cuz they're all isolated and it's probably a lil scary 
> 
> Until Highblood's bumpkin of a son wanders down cuz he's like "/what we got mutanTS I WANNA SEE/" and like
> 
> Pops by Karkats cell and we can see what happens from there--- :OO

The metal door sang a dull tune as it collided with the wall of the inner room, rebounding slowly and wobbly from the force of impact. A thickly-muscled cobalt blood wrestled a squirming mutant inside, roughly rejecting his frantic attempts at resistance before throwing him to the ground with enough power to make a sickening 'whump' echo the cell. "His Grandness the Highblood will make his decision on what to do with your filth by midnight tonight- do not fret about the... /conditions/ of your holding room for long" the elder troll snarled, nose crinkling like a dog's snout to bare sharp teeth before he turned and left, chains dragging musically against the cold floor before the door was roughly slammed shut and locked with a heavy 'clunk'. 

Karkat was alone now. 

His older brother and 'father' were taken to cells as opposite to Karkat's own room as possible to avoid giving them any chance to plan escape- or even comfort each other. Highbloods were cruel in that sense; not sparing the slightest shred of hope for whomever they deemed "unholy" in their twisted church of the Dark Carnival... Karkat's life was now on a timebomb. 

~~~ 

Now on the opposite side of the 'spectrum' (pun intended of course), an adolescent purple-blood was extremely busy upstairs trying to pull a filthy cotton black shirt with the trademark symbol adorning the chest over his head while at the same time trying to hurry down the stairs. The damn thing kept getting caught on the sharp curved tips of his horns-- and yes this eventually led to him falling down the last three steps unceremoniously. As can be guessed, this young troll was Gamzee and /boy/ was he pumped up to get down to his dad's dungeon. He heard of mutants dozens of times- trolls like himself but with much more vibrant and brightly colored blood. Now they were usually culled quickly, much to Gamzee's disappointment, so he never got to see an actual neon-blood before. But now- while his overling went about deciding the most painful method of finishing them- he was damn well gonna get a peek at them. It was a little cruel on his part, honestly, looking at fellow trolls like animals in a zoo. But is it really his fault? He was brought up to see them as animals, after all... 

Gamzee pulled his spotted pants back onto their loose position on his waist as he made his way down the wet and slightly sticky steps of the blood-spattered dungeon, rather calmly ignoring the cries of anguish and harsh cracks of whips or other such methods of eliciting the previously stated screams. Everything just felt natural to him. The sounds never reached the back halls though- the "solitary confinement" as it could be called- which was good for Gamzee as it would let him take a good look without being noticed and sent back to his room. 

The clown peeked through the barred window on the door, noticing the mutant blood with a spark of interest- and then some disappointment. This thing was sporting no mutant color- his symbol and his eyes were gray... There was a mistake, clearly there was a mistake. 

"Motherfuck... are you the mutant or is this motherfucker not looking hard enough?"

Everything happened way too fast for him to even process what was happening before it was too late. They raided the village in the middle of the night, too much of cowards to do it in daylight he guessed. The smell of fire is what woke him up before the door to their hive was kicked opened. His father tried to fight them off so he and his brother could escape but more came out of nowhere. It was a complete ambush and they were caught off guard. How could this happen? They made sure to keep quiet and hidden from populated cities filled with highblood's, only going to the low blood villages. They didn't get much, but a place to stay and food to eat was good enough for him. A similar thing happened before, his so called Grandmother was taken away from them sweeps ago, never to be heard from again. He lived in fear of the same incident happening. Dreams never come true, only nightmares afterall.

He couldn't get the screams out of his head nor the image of his father's tear stained face when they separated them after arriving. Karkat had no clue where they took him or which highblood's home this was. Though by the amount of blood all over the place when he was dragged to the dungeons told him it clearly was the Subjugglator's. Which wasn't good for his family, especially considering their blood color.

After being roughly thrown into the cell and a few profanities thrown out to the cerulean blood, he just curled up. He heard many stories of how these clown's dealt with low bloods and it was beyond words. He was a mutant. A freak to even low bloods. Death would be too easy, torture is probably what was in his future no doubt. Karkat scrambled to the corner of the cell when he heard a voice speak and eyes staring at him through the bars.

A low growl rumbled from his thorax when the goat talked. "Maybe your pan is just to fucking rotted out to even recognize shit clearly in front of you, you fuckwad. If I wasn't a mutant, would I be in here you moron?"

Amazingly, the other troll didn't even seem phased by the string of colorful insults. Nah, he was actually used to being talked to like that- if anything it made him strangely more comfortable with this fun-sized troll. "Well I wouldn't up and know- we got a ton more than just mutants down here ya know..." he droned off-handedly; casually. "I mean I can't tell with all that dull shit ya wearing--", he paused for a second, then sniggered, "is it cuz it's embarrassing? Is it like a fuckin bright neon pink or somethin'?" Gamzee pushed, rocking back and forth on his toes and the balls of his heels as he smiled to himself and coincidentally at the Cancer.

Another snarl left the trolls lips as he glared back at the highblood. "It's not fucking neon pink, that is literally the stupidest thing ever." He rolled his eyes, sitting down now. Like hell was he going to stand for this asshole, no fucking way. Karkat tugged at his sweater, at least he wouldn't freeze. "I'm sure you'll see the color soon enough when they cull me." Being a mutant he hadn't grown into the red eyes like his dad and brother have. He was sort of thankful for that fact to be completely honest, those eyes are a dead mutant giveaway.

Karkat sitting down to Gamzee gave him an open invite to come on inside- something he did happily. The door screamed as the badly repaired "knob" turned and cranked to open the entranceway. The tall clown came inside happily, shutting the door hard behind himself and looking to the small one with his hands safely tucked into his pockets. Well, now that Karkat could see him he would notice something... /off/ about him. For one thing, he dressed sloppily; shirt encrusted with something lime green colored around the collar and some down the stomach- the same droplets of slime being visible on the black-and-gray spotted lounge pants that went a little ways past his feet- leaving the back of them tattered and dusty-colored from dragging on the ground, His purple shoes were knotted messily and the strings splayed on the ground. Gamzee's horns were something to be noticed, too, seeing as the light reflected off them messily- indicating he didnt peel them cleanly during molt season like many highbloods do to keep them shiny and smooth but instead must have rubbed them against hard objects like many lowbloods do. And of course his eyes really showed what was up with him- even through the paint the purple rimming his eyes was visible. This Highblood was really fuckin /HIGH/.

"Didn't mean to offend ya then..." he mumbled softly, crossing his long legs to sit himself on the ground all the way across from his new "friend" (wasnt that a laugh) as he produced a bottle from the depths of his pants pocket and cracked the cap open with a hiss. 

Karkat pressed himself up against the wall, trying to keep as much distance from the highblood as possible. He scanned his appearance a few times, finding it hard that a Highblood looked like such a damn slob. Did he not know how to bathe himself? Was that sopor on his clothing? Did he /eat/ that sludge? What the fuck was up with this troll? He jumped at the cracking sound of the object he had. 

"What the fuck is that!?" He snapped out, trying his best to keep his distance, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. This wasn't good at all.

Gamzee paused in his actions, looking up rather alarmed himself by Karkat's sudden bout of fear. After he blinked a few times- likely processing the situation- his eyes returned to their lidded state and he chuckled lightly. "Don't be worried, my brother, s'just some pop" Gamzee soothed, turning his hand so the colorful drink with the fun label was shown to the other. "Ain't gotta worry 'bout lil ole me" the Highblood mumbled, taking a nice refreshing mouthful of the sugary addictive. "Why you want some?" he asked, licking his lips of the taste.

Karkat's eye couldn't help but twitch at the attitude of this highblood's behavior. Why was he so fucking calm? Why wasn't he torturing him or something? He slowly relaxed once more and rolled his eyes. "No thank you, I'd rather die of dehydration then drink any highblood crap." He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on his knees. He was quiet for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "Why haven't you culled me yet?"

He lowered his drink after another hearty swig, looking back to Karkat with a light smile. "'Cuz I ain't ever seen a mutant up close... Got my curiosity on too much right now; I wanted to see what a mutant was like when they're not all split open and dead" the young clown asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Have y'all ever got this close to a highblood, bro?"

The mutant scoffed at the others question. "If I have I wouldn't be talking to you right now, dumb ass." He rolled his eyes once more, staring away from the clown. "You've culled other mutant's before?" He mumbled under his breath. He thought his family was the only group of mutants alive. He knew how rare their blood color was but he didn't expect it to be that rare. "Clearly if you've seen them dead you've seen my blood."

"Me? Nawh I ain't nowhere near bein able to cull nothin all by my lonesome- aint got enough muscle yet but I'm workin' on it" he assured the other, re-adjusting so one leg was propping his elbow up and the other laying crooked on the ground. "Mnh... I only seen a few; theres one every color so often fer every low-blood caste- so far we got a highlighter and an orange but that was so long ago... And it wasn't us that got em- somewhere else but news just spread y'know. Yer family's the first me and pops ever got" the highblood chirruped as if it was a positive thing- something to be proud of. He may have been a significantly calmer Highblood but he was what he was nonetheless. 

Gamzee put his hands on the ground and dared to scoot himself a little closer. "And of course yer the first mutants to actually /do/ something aside from just being... well, motherfucking /mutants/"

Karkat growled out when he notice the clown starting to move closer. As if he was even intimidating the highblood. Yeah that's funny Karkat you dipshit. He squinted at him a bit, he seemed to be around his age maybe a little older but not by much. Unless he just looked like he was older. The dumbass makeup really wasn't much help at determining his age so that's out. "What do you even mean by that? That we were doing something and not just being mutants?" This asshole was so confusing.

He suddenly smiled- but it wasn't like the other lazy grins he gave... something about it was suddenly more wolfish in its undertone. "Well, that y'all been starting a motherfucking REBELLION instead of just laying low and trying to not get killed... Somethin' about equality fer all colors a' blood yeah?" Gamzee inquired, blowing a stray curl of hair from his face.

He stared at the clown for awhile before he looked down. So that's what his dad and brother were doing. That's why they wouldn't let him tag along. But why... didn't they know how dangerous it was to draw attention to themselves. "I... I didn't know that. I wasn't aware my father was starting a rebellion." His brow furrowed as he thought about it more. Fuck. How stupid could they be!? It was dangerous for them to breathe but they went around preaching their loud mouths about stupid bullshit. What the hell. "I guess it was just a matter of time before we got caught." Better the Subjugglator's get them then the Empress herself.

Ohhh Gamzee wouldn't want to say that... Subjugglators were the equivalent of Berzerkers. Cruel, unrelenting, and hellish. But he didn't say that, he cant read Karkat's thoughts. 

Gamzee actually seemed disappointed by the new Karkat was left out of this news- but he could understand the feeling. His dad didn't even allude him to what his caste /did/ until he was at proper maturity to handle the facts that they culled trolls that stepped out-of-line. It was a strange time for him to transition- but it was chill with him. Nothing really upset him. Well, he did tend to get a little antsy when he couldnt get his mouth on some slime. But lets just pocket that fact for the time being, hm?

"....... Between me and you, since ya might die anyway, I kinda like yer dad's idea"

His eye really needed to stop twitching honestly. "And why do you sat that? What part of his idea is smart? He went around and preached about who knows what, knowing it could get him and his kids killed. Yeah such a swell fucking idea there. Fan-fucking-tastic one." He rolled his eyes yet again, it was starting to hurt at thus point. "Please just do me the favor and cull me. Why even keep us alive? Does your dad enjoy torturing us? You know what, never mind I even asked that ok? Because that clearly was the stupidest question I've ever asked. Honestly, just club my pan in already." He really needed to stop rambling.

He smiled again, quietly chuckling in his chest. "I ain't permitted to kill nobody, bro. M'sorry..." Gamzee said, getting up and crawling over so he was in friendly proximity to him and able to place his cold-blooded hand on the other's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

Karkat flinched at the touch, jumping back a bit. "D-don't fucking touch me!" His voice cracked slightly as he tried to put some more distance between them only to be met with another wall. Fucking great. Fuck. "Why are you even being nice to me? I'm your prisoner and a mutant, I'm pretty sure my pan should be splattered against this wall by now."

Gamzee's hand obediently retreated from the other, quickly, the clown looking a little aggravated about it but that's mostly just because as a cold-blooded troll he really liked the warmth he felt even through the thick sweater. 

He shrugged, downing the last mouthful of his soda. "M'just not all that mean... Kinda like the freak 'round these parts" he said, "I don't really wanna hurt nobody.."

He suddenly looked up in realization at the smaller troll. 

".... Wha's yer name?"

Yeah ok, like he was going to believe any of that shit. Not wanting to hurt anybody, pfft. Alright. He watched the clown for awhile before he heard the question.

"Um it's Karkat... Karkat Vantas." He should really be polite, probably. "And what's your name?"

"Name's Gamzee~" he purred, reaching out his hand to shake-- before he could, though, suddenly the sharp squeak of the door being opened jerked him of his calm resting face and he whipped his head to the doorway to see the previous cobalt-blood enter.

It seemed they lost track of time here.

The guard troll paused as he saw Gamzee, looking like he wanted to be respectful and also scolding at the same time. Eventually, he seemed to have decided, narrowing his eyes at the clown. ".... /Go to your room, your highness/..." he growled, Gamzee getting up in response and quickly making his way out before his father could find out about this- he spared a last look at Karkat, then oddly winked with a calming grin, and left promptly. 

The beefy blue-blood approached Karkat swiftly, looking down with a bloodlustful happiness in his eyes. 

"His Grandness has chosen your fate" he sneered, grabbing Karkat roughly by his upper arm to force him to stand.


	2. Chapter 2

Again, everything happened so fast. As strange as he was, Gamzee was the only troll aside from his brother that he ever talked to. Well Sollux too but yeah... His eyes widened when he was yanked up to his feet. "Let go of me you over grown jackwagon! Get off of me!" If he was going to die he wasn't going to go quietly. No fucking way. "Let me go!" He shouted louder, trying his best to hold on to the doorframe. "Dad! Kankri! Help! Help!" Fear was starting to take over as the blue-blood pryed him from the frame. He continued to plead for his pathetic life.

"Ohh don't worry about them, joke, you'll be with them /very soon/" the blue-blood snarled cruelly, grasping Karkat's smaller hands and prying them off the door harshly. 

The time came quickly when he was brought before a horrendously large crowd of Highbloods; all screaming and cheering and hollering profanities and slurs- throwing rocks and rotting foods at the Signless and Kankri who already were kneeling bound to wooden stakes. This was it. This was his last day on Alternia and boy was it going to hurt... 

The area was illuminated with crimson flames spilling the mockery of his blood color over the darkness, casting devilish shadows on the walls as Karkat was pushed to the ground and bound like the rest of his family. He was strapped firmly to a stake and now at the mercy of the crowd hurling objects at him. 

After a few minutes of this all-around abuse the crowd was silenced and rocks had stopped cracking into his head and sides. The Grand Highblood approached, his footfalls grating and ominious, leering down at the poor family. "MY MOTHERFUCKIN BROTHERS", he announced as he turned to the crowd, "WE GOT OURSELVES SOME MOTHERFUCKIN /BLASPHEOMY-SPEWERS/" the crowd's jeering rose again briefly, falling once more as the Highblood raised a fist to silence them. "Seeing as these motherFUCKERS are filled with some of that sweet candy-fuckin-blood, let's say we have ourselves a pinata party..."

Everything hurt at this point. His hands, wrists, ankles, sides, fucking everything. The rocks and various items that were thrown at his family surly drew blood from the small knicks and scrapes the items caused. It was so loud. So very fucking loud. He couldn't even look at his father or Kankri, what was the point, he knew he would start crying anyways. But he did. He had to see their familiar faces at least one last time. He wanted to hug them so bad and never let go. Karkat raised his head to speak when the silence fell over them and he followed their gaze to the Subjugglator.

His pusher stopped for a second and immediately started up once again as he stared at him. He was fucking enormous, terrifyingly large. This was Gamzee's father there was no doubt about that. Karkat couldn't stop shaking or the silent tears that continued to stream down his face. He knew what their fate was but hearing it said made it even worse. Why couldn't he have been born a jade or a teal blood? At least he'd have a purpose with that color, not an abomination to Alternia.

Karkat whimpered out at the mention of a "pinata party". They were going to be beaten to death. Forced to suffer till their last pathetic breath. He let his head fall back down and cried. This was it. This was the end.

Oh yes indeed this was looking like the end as Highblood took the first 'honor' of stringing one of them up. He grabbed Signless by his hair, ripping him from the stake brutally and pushing him to lay flat into the ground. A chain was laced around his ankles and a crude crank was used to string him up off the ground. The surrounding crowd began to unsheathe their weapons (mercilessly, none of them were going to do the job of killing Signless quickly- all were blunt objects). 

The Highblood's thudding steps approached Karkat, a large hand grabbing him by his still-soft chin and forcibly turning his head to look at his father as the crowd was closing in. "Take a good long motherfuckin look boy- don't wanna forget how your daddy died do ya?" the massive Subjugglator purred, pure enjoyment in his voice as he held Karkat's face to keep looking at his dad- Kankri in the meanwhile was seemingly praying- eyes closed and trying to block out everything. It was a hopeless endeavor for him, though... 

"N-no...," His voice was barely even above a whisper as he was forced to watch his father get beaten. "P-please stop..." he knew pleading for their lives was a completely useless thing to do, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to die despite saying it countless times. He was kidding himself when he thought being captured by these monsters was better then having been caught by the Empress. She would've ended it faster, she doesn't like wasting time on vermin like them. But not these highblood's. The Subjugglator's practically thrived for this, watching their prey suffer.

He couldn't stop crying. He couldn't stand to watch this. He didn't want this to be the last thing he remembered of his gentle father. Karkat closed his eyes as he saw the club of a Subjugglator rise up.

"/Don't close your eyes or I'll just make it motherfucking worse for him/" he snarled, clawed fingertips digging into his cheeks to make him look. None of them even touched his head- wanting him to stay awake and conscious as much as possible obviously. The Signless was only trollian- of course he screamed; apologies, forgivenesses, mercy for his sons... They were near to impossible to hear over the jeers and cries of disturbingly gleeful trolls. The Highblood was the one to deliver the final blow- he always was- wether Karkat looked or not it'd be impossible to drown out the wet squelch of that spiked club taking the life of the peaceful Signless. 

Next was Kankri- who had went rather more quickly- and now their attention was put to little Karkat. 

Highblood approached him, his slow chuckling coming out as whispy clouds of warm breath in the frigid air as he grasped him by the back of his sweater, taking him to the bloodied chain that took the life of his family thus far----

"/STOP/"

One voice screamed above all others- frighteningly loud to do so. Silence befell the crowd- Highblood included as all heads turned to the source. Who would've thought now-- 

It was Gamzee. Of course it was. 

But he wasn't smiling, his eyes were wide and sharp- bloodshot a red-orange hue. After a few tense moments of silence; "........ I shoulda picked this a long time ago, I know, but... I've decided on my brood-mate" he announced, Highblood sighing heavily next to Karkat. "Boy's got the worst motherfuckin sense of timing- /GAMZEE THIS AINT THE MOTHERFUCKIN PLACE FOR THIS BULLSHIT/"

"/LIKE HELL IT IS/" he snapped back, walking forward to put himself in the middle of the action- all else aside from Highblood and the mutant he was still holding backing away respectfully. ".... It's perfect timing 'cuz yer bout to kill him"

A collected gasping of partial bewilderment and disgust swept over the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3

He couldn't watch. The sounds were bad enough. He caught the soft whisper from Kankri as they pulled him to meet his father's fate. He went quickly, already accepting his fate. Karkat on the other hand screamed and pleaded for his life. He thrashed and tried his best to break free, knowing it was futile.

For the first time in his pathetic life he prayed. He prayed in old Alternian like his father taught him when he was just a wriggler. It was pointless of course, but at least it brought him a small amount of peace. He cried more and more as he was dragged over to the spot where his father's and brother's bodies laid. This was it. It was over.

His head shot up instantly at the scream and his grey hues widened. Either from fear or surprise he didn't know. What was going on? What was he talking about? A brood-mate? What the fuck was that? He started shaking again.

Highblood dropped Karkat, giving a slow snarl as he approached his son. "Why the FUCK you want a /mutant/ as yer gene-holder?" the adult troll growled quietly- attempting to keep this conversation personal. He didn't need his entire fuckin' army knowing that his son was going to choose a mutant-blood as a gene bucket. 

Gamzee was calm- even seeming mature about this for once in his life. ".... S'cuz, I want my motherfuckin genes to never be able to replicated. Our bloodline is fuckin sacred and should only be motherfuckin taken by a rarity. Cant have more competition in our caste..." 

Highblood thought about this for a second, then nodded slowly, gesturing for them to bring Karkat over. One from the crowd did such obediently, pushing the frightened Vantas into Gamzee's arms. "...... Fine then, boy, but you better not be just motherfuckin' duping me to let him run his ass off again. You're KEEPING him" 

And with that, the culling was over, Highblood commanding everyone to go back home and clean their asses up. Gamzee looked down at Karkat, merely smiling again. "... Hey there again brother...~"

Karkat watched in terror as the highblood's talked to themselves quietly. He turned to the bodies of his family, tears welling up once again in his eyes. "D-dad... Kankri? W-wake up... please." His voice was barely a whisper as he tugged at Kankri's sweater then h is Dad's cloak. They were gone. They were cold. Karkat curled in on himself and started to cry before he was roughly pulled to his feet and thrown into the young Subjugglator's arms. Screaming the entire way.

He didn't look up when Gamzee spoke to him, he just stood there and stared at the corpses of his family. He was all alone now. He was alone. Karkat couldn't stop crying no matter how hard he tried.

Well, fact of the matter was he wasn't alone-- in fact he might never have alone time to himself again after this...

Gamzee sat there awkwardly, holding a frantic mutant and really just feeling uncomfortable. He never dealt with someone losing their family- most lowbloods that happened to he never fraternized with. He never had to comfort someone in pain because they were going to die anyhow... Surely he could act as a moirail, right? Though... he never had a moirail... Hm. 

"... Hey now my brother, y'all take some more even breaths about now, yeah...?" Gamzee suggested quietly, already beginning to pull Karkat away as white birds descended from the sky to feast upon the spoils of the dead corpses. Gamzee turned him away from his family to avoid seeing such a morbid view of his previous family. 

Gamzee draped a long arm around his new "brood-mate's" shoulders, pulling him close and hoping this time his cold touch wont be rejected...  
Karkat's body moved on its own as the young Subjugglator pulled him from the site. He tried his best to stop his crying, not wanting to make to much noise or get screamed at. The sound of ripping flesh slowly faded as they left the execution ring. He was terrified, maybe even more so then when he was about to die. He was now a "brood-mate" to a Subjugglator. He had no clue what that was but it probably wasn't good considering how furious Gamzee's father was with him. He didn't really care about the cold arm around him now, not like it mattered anyways. He was a slave now probably. Having to do whatever this clown told him to do.

His breathing slowly started to calm and his crying too, but the tears never stopped flowing. He was never going to hear his father's soft voice or feel his gentle hug. He was never going to have to hear a lecture from his brother. Wow... who knew he'd say he would miss those.

"Why... Why'd you stop him?" He mumbled under his breath, head still down as they walked.

"'Cause I didn't want you to die" Gamzee replied simply, tightening his hold on the small and badly bruised troll gently. "Now les' go get ya cleaned up, a'ight?" the clown advised, glancing at the other's state all covered in bloodied nicks and-- it seemed a few trolls even just threw clods of mud at him. He was probably sore too- being grabbed all over and thrown on things. Ugh, Gamzee could only imagine how that must've felt... 

"... So, I know yer prolly all up and scared about the whole 'brood-mate' thing but if I said some actual quadrant I'm pretty motherfuckin' sure I'da been the next motherfucker they strung up like that" he laughed softly afterwards- clearly attempting to lighten the mood. He really was bad at timing- come on, clown, it was really too soon to be even smiling about what just occurred. "I ain't gon do ya over like that, though; not unless ya want it.."

Karkat listened, still not even sure why this happened. "I don't know what a brood-mate is, Gamzee... can I call you that? Or do I have to call you like Master or something?" Not even one insult thrown out, he really was fucked up from this entire ordeal. He did cling to the troll like his life depended on it. Gamzee was probably the only troll who wouldn't treat him like dirt. Hopefully he was right about that.

Karkat looked at himself, he was covered in blood. His own and his family when he tried to wake them up. His hands started shaking and his breathing picked up. "T-they're dead... I... I have their blood on me... oh god..." he began to panic now. It was really difficult for him to keep it together. He started clawing at his hands and arms, trying to scrape the blood off only hurting himself and causing him to bleed.

"Well... it pretty much means that yer the one whos gonna carry my genes. Think of yerself like a trollian bucket; the whole 'brood-mate' thing kinda died out a long time ago but my family still practices it" 

He decided to leave out the whole "no means yes" policy to the brood-ie from the brood-er. Not like he'd follow that rule anyway; when people want some action they should want it and not just be beaten until they cant move and forcibly taken. 

He opened his mouth to go into detail about himself until Karkat began having his episode. Gamzee raised a brow, grabbing Karkat's wrists in his icy fingers and pulling them up above Karkat's head. "Stop that" he said simply, meeting Karkat's rheumy gaze before letting his arms fall back. He wasn't being very sympathetic here, but that wasn't his doing. He never experienced the death of a loved one- not yet, anyhow- seeing as Highbloods aged slowly and lived seemingly forever. Gamzee was pretty high up there, too; the last of the landdwellers caste. Quite impressive lifespan. 

They came into the Highblood's castle- silhouetted against the dark blue Alternian sky like a cryptid circus- all sharp points and jagged angles and intricate 'murals' of twisted imagery. The interior wasn't much nicer; everthing had an olden gothic feel to it and it was colored in shades of purple and dark grays to blacks. Gamzee lead the Cancer to the stairs and up them to a higher level, merely taking him to his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Whatever Karkat was expecting it probably wasn't this. Gamzee's room was actually rather pleasant. Sure there were dirty clothes strewn amist the floor and a few stains on the carpet here and there, but there was a soft glow from a string of small lights webbing the roof and a well-loved couch across from a cocoon suspended from the ceiling and holding an abundance of sopor slime. There were posters of creepy troll clowns crookedly put up onto the walls and some empty bottles of soda and stray horns here and there but it was relatively cozy in appearance. 

Then there was the random-ass oven in the far corner of the room and stacked high next to it were some used pie tins.

Weird, right?

"So ahh... this is where yer gon be staying fer... the rest of your days I'd motherfucking assume"

Karkat tried his best to listen and not go in to a panicked state once again. In less nicer terms he was going to be a material bucket for the clown. Not like he was good for anything else at this point. Though, he hadn't even pupated into adulthood, or mid adulthood yet. His eyes still that dull grey color like the symbol on his tattered sweater. "Do I have to wear certain clothing?" His sweater was literally all he had from his father AND grandmother, the only piece of memory he had. He clutched the article of clothing to himself as he looked around the young highblood's room.

He wasn't expecting it to look, or even feel for that matter, so cozy. His ears twitched at the sight of the couch, it looked soft. As the clown talked he cautiously walked around the room, nervously touching things. He glanced over at Gamzee then looked out the window.

"No chains or shackles? You're not going to keep me as some pet or slave?" It's what he's good for now anyways.

"Not unless you want to- I guess technically you should be wearin' nothing at all times in case I get a hankering for somethin' good but nawh I ain't got plans to use you like that- I just said it to save yer husk" Gamzee lamented simply, shrugging as he pointed to a door joined with his respite block. "If ya wanna take a bath and get cleaned up the ablution-trap is in there" he mentioned, smiling kindly as he took a load-off on the couch and removed his shoes to get comfortable.

The Cancer stood there for a good three minutes before he wandered over to the door where the ablution trap was. He wanted to thank the clown or say something but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Maybe after he got his father's and brother's blood off of him he'll be in a more talkative mood. Karkat slowly pushed opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

Whoa. This was nice. Doesn't look like it's used often though. Well, Gamzee doesn't look like he bathes frequently so that wasn't much of a surprise now.

Karkat took a deep, shaky, breath as he began to undress, wincing as he had to pull his sweater off a little roughly. Blood had caked into the fabric and stuck to his skin. Everything hurt including his pusher. He just wanted to clean up and sleep for like a week. He took awhile to undress, getting lost in his thoughts and shit as he started the trap, making sure the water was hot. He needed it steaming to relax enough to forget what happened today. He carefully set the silver pendant he had in his pocket on the top of his clothing before stepping into the hot water.

A loud purr left the crab while he got comfortable. He might not leave this trap for a few hours.

Not like Gamzee minded- he was getting plenty comfortable on his own. Being a Highblooded troll he constantly needed something to regulate his body temperature. The easiest method? Artificial heat. Gamzee possessed a collection of electric blankets and heating pads, as did just about every Highblood- even his dad did and used it often. But in secrecy; it was intimidating to see a Highblood able to handle the cold without a struggle. But honestly that was impossible and Highblood always had one sewn into the back of his chair to keep it from being seen. 

Clever tactics. 

Gamzee had no reason to be ashamed of it though- it was hard to stay warm for him. So, he laid back on the bed- a large warming blanket under him and a smaller pad resting on his lower stomach. A raspy congested purr escaping him as he just waited for Karkat to finish cleaning himself up.

He must've been in there for about an hour or so, but he needed it. He had cleaned up his wounds and all the dried up blood too. The water was completely red now and it made him sick to his meal sac. Karkat climbed out and shook off some of the water, a force of habit he did. He found a large towel and wrapped himself in it before pulling the trap. He sat on the floor wrapped in the cloth for awhile before he turned to his clothes. Couldn't really put those back on now could he?

Karkat rose to his feet, grabbed the pile of his clothes and left the ablution trap. He cleared his throat a bit before he spoke. "Um what do I wear? My clothes are covered in blood. Please don't throw them out though. I'll wash them myself but yeah..."

He trailed off as he watched the highblood on his bed. What the fuck was he doing? He knew that highblood's were cold blooded but he didn't know it was /that/ serious. His father had told him stories of what highblood's had to do to keep warm. How Signless knew was beyond him, but he didn't really think it was true.

"Are you really that cold?" He mumbled under his breath. Karkat never had a problem with heat, he was always so damn warm like a fucking heater or some shit. The cold seasons were hell for him though and the warm ones were literally unbareable to deal with.

He looked up from the couch (kept saying bed sorry--) and hummed a voiceless question. "Oh, yeah, heh; I can get cold pretty motherfuckin easily- broke my heating lamp the other day anyhow..." he grumbled, missing the convince of flicking a switch instead of having to wait for these blankets to heat up. Oh well... he should get his naked friend some coverings. 

Gamzee got up (albeit reluctantly) from his warmed blankets, heading to his overflowing drawers and retrieving a black hoodie with purple spots on the sleeves and a pair of clean boxers- all his good pants were on the ground and caked in god-knows-what and he figured Karkat wouldnt want those. "Here ya go, Karbro" he said as he handed the wadded clothes to the mutant, retreating back to his cozy place on the couch.

Karkat took the clothing with a small thank you and walked back into the other room to dress. It was going to take a lot out of him getting used to that clown and how nice he is. He mumbled to himself while he pulled on the sweatshirt and boxers. These were definitely too big for him. The sweatshirt went down to his thighs almost. Fucking hell.

Karkat walked back out, clutching his clothes to his chest. "Um do you want me to put these somewhere?" He really didn't want to part with it, especially the pendant.

He looked over from his cozy place on the worn couch, now holding a husktop on his lap that even from Karkat's point was obviously filled with spam by the amount of shimejis and other virus-pumping add-ons. Stupid clown. 

"Nawh y'all just put it where ya wont forget it" he lamented simply, looking back to his screen and returning to whatever video he was preoccupied watching on some website.

Karkat looked around the room for a few minutes before he placed the clothes down and put the pendant back on, tucking it under the sweatshirt. What the hell was he even supposed to do now? Just fucking stand here like a moron? He ran his hands through his hair and sat on the floor, his back to the clown. He was technically a prisoner here. He wasn't allowed to leave the room or go anywhere or do anything, so what is the point of him even still being alive.

"What am I even supposed to do now? Just fucking sit here and do nothing all day? Because that's really fucking-"

Of course his meal sac had to make noises at a time like this.


	5. Chapter 5

"Yep. Well, normally broods' would still be down in the cellar; y'all call yerself lucky I'm willing to share" Gamzee hummed off-handedly, already proving to not be the most exciting host. What did that matter though- it was unlikely Karkat was ready to just get up and keep going after witnessing the horrific death of his family. 

The clown side-glanced his companion at his ears twitched at the low grumbling. He looked over once again, "ya hungry my brother?"  
Karkat hugged at his stomach, his ears lowering slightly. "I haven't really eaten anything in awhile. At least since the village was raided and... yeah." He trailed off, looking at the floor. "What is my purpose as a brood-mate or whatever? Like does every Subjugglator have a go at me or something or am I just yours?" Maybe if he distracted the clown he'd not worry about getting him food. He'd gone a few days without a meal, why would this be any different.

Well nah Gamzee was already getting up and going to his mini fridge that was tucked discreetly away next to the oven he held. "I got y'all covered, brother, don't you worry" he hummed, producing a soda bottle and half some kind of meat sandwhich. "Heres a lil something from my lunch earlier~" he said with a shrug, having both items to the Cancer. Gamzee returned to the couch, replacing the warming pad on his lap and now leting all his focus on the mutantblood. "Well... like I said- yer a gene carrier. Traditionally y'all would just be used for my disposal, I guess, kinda just like a fuck-buddy but y'know we wouldn't be buddies... But we are and you aint really a brood-mate; like I up and motherfuckin' said, I only said that to save both a' us"

He mumbled a small thank you as he was handed the items. The sandwich looked edible but the drink was questionable. He carefully opened it and sniffed the liquid but quickly pulled away from it. What the fuck was that?! He glared at it as he brought the drink to his lips and cautiously started sipping at it. It didn't taste toxic or anything, but with highblood's who the hell knows now.

Karkat spent a good five minutes inspecting the food and drink before he was relaxed enough to enjoy both items. Which didn't last long, he devoured whatever was left of the food and downed the drink. Clearly he was starving.

He glanced over at Gamzee before cautiously standing up and moving over towards him. He sat on the other end of the couch, keeping his distance.

"Okay but /why/ did you do it? What's so special or important about me that you decided to face your terrifyingly enormous father to stop him from killing me? Was it pitty, cause just throw me out that window if that's so." He was so chatty for someone who just witnessed his family being murdered.

"Cuz yer the only other troll I ever got to talk to in person; I kinda appreciated it. Daddy-o never lets me outta the castle very much, y'know- says lowbloods're toxic to me" Gamzee explained, shrugging and smiling when Karkat finished his food. It felt kinda nice giving like that; he should do it more often. 

"My dad ain't scary, he's like a teddy bear" Gamzee then said, chuckling as if Karkat's fear of him was like calling the blue sky red.

"He's massive. And bashed my father's skull in with a club. That's not a teddy bear, Gamz." He pulled his legs up to his chest, hugging them closely as he rested his chin on his knees. "I can still hear their screams..." he mumbled under his breath.

Karkat had yet to even rest once since everything that happened today. He was too afraid to sleep, scared of what he might see in his dreams. He curled his toes as he put one foot over the other, switching them occasionally. 

"I was raised to fear your kind, yknow? Told stories how highblood's would raid villages and take whatever they wanted, killing whoever they wanted. I don't think you understand how dangerous it is for me to be breathing. I'm of a blood caste that isn't even on the hemospectrum. It's a disgusting bright candy red color."

Gamzee's smile fell. Right... that's right... "....he's like that 'round me..." the clown mumbled softly, knowing it wasnt about to fix anything but still.. Might as well get across his point of view. 

He nodded solemnly, downcasting his gaze. "It's weird- see I don't see a problem with some brighter blood. It don't seem like it'd be such a bad thing an' it's so motherfucking weird that it is..." Gamzee said- seemingly half to himself but also toward Karkat. 

"But it is! Do you know how it feels to wake up day after day running for your life? Not knowing what you'll have to eat that day or week? Huddling for warmth in the woods because you have nowhere to sleep?" Karkat was shaking now as he spoke. "That has been my life ever since I puppated Gamzee."

He rubbed at his face with the sleeves of the sweatshirt. When did he start crying... Fucking hell. He sniffled, trying to catch his breath. He needed to grow up now. This was going to be his life from now on until this clown got tired of him. Or he stepped out of line and got himself culled.

"I don't... I don't want to feel alone anymore." He hiccuped, rubbing his eyes again.

Karkat cautiously began to move closer to the clown, scooting across the couch. 

"I know... I know I'm like all over the place emotionally right now and it's not good but can I..." He took a moment to catch his breath. "Can I just... have a hug?"


End file.
